The Run Home

Our last blog post took us to Port Lincoln, on the bottom of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. The plan was to rest here for 4 clear days in readiness for the run home by the most direct route via Port Augusta, Peterborough, across the SA/NSW border  and via the Barrier Highway through Broken Hill to Dubbo and down the Golden Highway to home, in one week, about 1800 kms.

The rest-break at Port Lincoln was good, we had a site in the van park that looked down over Boston Bay and with the annex up but opened down the entire side facing the water, we had a sunny aspect sheltered from the prevailing winds, very enjoyable. But time was up and with everything packed and stowed, we left Port Lincoln at 7.20am Sunday 11.11.12.

With a few stops for a brief look at some of the places up the eastern side of the Eyre Peninsula, including by chance right near the War Memorial at Cowell where we paused for the 11am Rememberance Service, we pressed on to the first camp at the junction of the Lincoln and Eyre Highways, not far short of Port Augusta. It was blowing hard and hot in the late afternoon, but there were other ‘van travellers also stopped for the night so we shared some company and turned in. With all of the windows and curtains wide open, I think the very cold change in the middle of the night gave us the colds that we are still fighting!

Monday it was on to a camp at Olary Creek, still in SA but not far from the NSW border at Cockburn. It wasn’t much of a camp, “rubbish” country, remote and no one else there but we were well back and okay for the night. Tuesday, we crossed the border back into NSW, the first time for 5 months, through Broken Hill with a short shopping stop (mainly a chemist for anti-cold supplies), and then on through Wilcannia to the third camp, a rest area 173kms before Cobar.  It’s a lot of straight roads and open country along this way, plenty of emus and wild goats!

We were getting ahead of our estimated daily runs and were at the rest area east of Cobar mid-morning on Wednesday where we had thought we would camp that night. A rethink over a cuppa resulted in a change to go on through Nyngan to Nevertire and swing left into a loop that would take us through Warren (near Haddon Rig sheep station that my mum had grown up on), Gilgandra (where I competed in the Gilgandra Gift professional running meetings a few times, many years ago) and via Mendooran back to Dunedoo and the Golden Highway from Dubbo.

This deviation was only about 50kms extra and cut out Dubbo and the busy roads around there. It was a beautiful drive, good roads and quiet, well worth it. We finished up camping Wednesday night at a good spot between Nevertire and Warren. What an impressive little town, Warren is, with special facilities for ‘vans and campers, lovely fresh water on tap, well signposted in a park, and a dump point for portable toilets nearby.

Thursday’s run got us as far as Battery Rocks rest area, near Merriwa. That was as much as we could do, both battling these infernal colds still. On Friday morning we battled through all the heavy vehicle coalmining traffic through Denman, Muswellbrook and down to Singleton. What was a very pretty drive one time is just devastated landscape now. We were pleased to get away from it all and turn left at Singleton and go on further that way to the farm where our caravan now lives.

We got to the farm about 11.30am Friday and have laid low here for a couple of days to get over these colds. It will be home to Warners Bay tomorrow, Sunday 18 November 2012, a bit over 5 months and almost 20,000 kms since we left in June.

The final round of photographs appears below. Don’t forget you can enlarge any of these images with one click of the mouse on them, all the way through the blog postings.

For those of you who have watched regularly, or maybe just occasionally, and for the interested comments, thank you from us.

‘Bye for now,

R and M

In the annex at Port Lincoln, during the 4 day break

one of the many emus, west of Broken Hill

Sun-up through the window of the van at the camp between Wilcannia and Cobar

During a break in a rest area at Mendooran, on the Castlereagh

Same place - Merv and Narelle this would be an ideal camp on the way to Menindee Lakes next winter??

The last camp of the trip, Battery Rocks near Merriwa

The rock formation that gives "Battery Rocks" its name

Driving back through the farm gate - the trip is over!

Its raining at the farm, hence the tent and tarp set-up for the transfer of the gear in the morning, to leave the van and go home

Cape Le Grand to Port Lincoln

Our last blog was done at  Norseman, in a bit of a hurry trying to stay ahead of imminent bad weather to cross the Nullarbor, after leaving Cape Le Grand National Park, east of Esperance. Well, we crossed happily over the next four days with some sunshine, a little rain and lots of wind, mostly across or behind. We camped in rest areas, at "Baxter" camp on the 90 mile straight before Caiguna, then another near Eucla and one east of nullarbor roadhouse, before motoring into Ceduna in South Australia, the first town we had seen in four days.

We were sad to leave Western Australia at the border crossing near Eucla. It is such a big State, and we had been working our way around it since 21 July when we crossed from the Northern Territory to Kununurra, 10,000 kilometres back. There has been so much to see and experience in Western Australia and we will have so many lasting memories from there, places and people.

The trip across the Nullarbor is a very impressive experience especially for the first time (for M). The long straight road, particularly the 145 kilometres without a bend that is the longest straight stretch of road in Australia, the low shrubs on the "Treeless Plain" (it isn't desert - its really quite interesting) and the view of the Southern Ocean in The Bight from those 300ft cliffs are parts of that experience.

We restocked our fruit and vegies at Ceduna, after reducing these to zero before the quarantine station coming into there (we had to have a cook-up of the last of it for lunch that day, fried tomato and onions etc)

Our plan has been to explore the Eyre Peninsula down around to Port Lincoln and back up the eastern side, looking forward to some fishing and seafood along the way. We stopped five days at Smoky Bay, caught some fish from the jetty, Tommy Rough (Herring) and Trevally, plus 7 Blue Swimmer crabs one day and 12 the next, bought a few dozen oysters in the shell from one of the many oyster sheds in the area and it took some days to clean all that up! M had great fun especially working the dilly pots off the jetty for the crabs - she said she had never found it so easy to catch crabs.

We are now at Port Lincoln for four full days, in an elevated site looking south-east across Boston Bay, with the annex up to shelter from the cool breeze but open all along the side facing down to the bay. We are using this time to catch up with paintings for me and the baby quilt for M, for the new grandchild due in a few weeks. It is basically the last real break we will take before a succession of long days and bush camps across through Broken Hill, to be home by Sunday 18 November. Boston Bay mussels are on the menu for tomorrow - the end of our wining and dining, enjoying the local produce as we go.

There are lots of photos below, some that were not included in that rushed episode done at Norseman. The captions will take you through our travels as far back as Cape Leeuwin, in the Margaret River corner, up to here. This will probably be the last blog. It's a bit sad really, but all good things must come to an end.  We are planning other (shorter) trips already.

Some cows for the kids, Margaret River

M on the Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin Walk, Leeuwin Lighthouse to Skippy Rock section, peering out of the thick scrub back to the lighthouse

This caught my eye on the way back to the carpark in Walpole NP - I did a double-take at seeing that sort of language on a vehicle, until seeing it more clearly (next photo)

Nothing wrong with that - just me jumping to conclusions

Our campsite at Cape Le Grand - snuggled down out of the wind (very necessary)

A bit more indication of the wind - the heavy weight of the old picnic table was a bit of "insurance"

The view of Mt Le Grand from just above our campsite. We walked up the dozen steps to where this was taken from to get a mobile phone service

The track down to the beach from near our campsite - the white sand and turquoise water so striking

A paint sketch was called for

A monument plaque further east in the park

This beach nearby was totally covered by seaweed, very thick

Flowering gum in the park

Thistle Beach - we saw the people swimming and went back for our togs. It was very cold, but what a lovely spot

Frenchman Peak, one of the 3 main mountains in the park. That is daylight you can actually see through the middle of the cap. There is a path to climb this one (we didn't!)

Part of the 90 Mile Straight on the Nullarbor

Baxter camp - there were at least a dozen rigs here the same night, with storms all around us

The cliffs from a lookout on the Nullarbor

Looking the other way, same lookout

The van parked at the lookout. Yes I was on the wrong side of the fence, but well back from the edge

The overhang shows the reason for the fences. The carpark is just out of shot to the left

Say no more!

Smoky Bay oysters....

More of the good fare from Smoky Bay (we caught the crabs, but bought the oysters)

We drove in and around a 5km "clifftop drive", with the van on, near Elliston on the way down to Port Lincoln. This was at one of the view points

M into the act as well

These were at another view point. Not sure why..

And finally, our camp in the van park at Port Lincoln. From the sheltered annex we look down across Boston Bay. A very nice spot in the warm sun!

Cape Leeuwin to Cape Le Grande

We are travelling through Norseman, about to turn right on to the western end of the Nullarbor Plain and commence the run east into South Australia. When we get to Ceduna, we plan to travel down the Eyre Peninsula to have a look at Smoky Bay, Streaky Bay and maybe sample the oysters and fishing, then Port Lincoln and back up the other side to Port Augusta. From there it is home by the direct route through Broken Hill and Dubbo, home by about mid-November.

The last blog post was way back at Flinders Bay, Augusta, in the bottom left corner of the continent, virtually in the shadow of the tall lighthouse of Cape Leeuwin. It’s a bit tardy, I know, to have no blog post right across the south-west coast of WA but we have been in National Parks most of the time and only briefly in the larger places with access to the net. So much to see and do.

In the attached photos you will see the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse (we climbed to the top and it was HIGH up - 176 steps)) and some of our activities along the way. You will see only a scattering of photos (there are too many), through Pemberton and the Walpole-Nornalup forests of enormous trees, the magic little Peaceful Bay, so aptly named where we stopped for a while, Albany to visit our friends Bob and Lesley, Esperance and finally the Cape Le Grande national park where we have been for the past week.

We weren’t leaving until the morning of Monday 29 October, but the weather forecast is for rain and strong winds for the next week, so we cut and run Sunday afternoon to pack a dry annex and try to get ahead of it across the Nullarbor.  So it is Sunday night and we are camped at Salmon Gums with the plan to stop at Norseman long enough to post this blog (if there is net access) and then get on our way across the Nullarbor.

... Now Monday morning, at Norseman. There is net access. It is overcast, 7.45am, and looks like the weather is brewing up, so a few photos and we will get on the road. We will put something more complete together further on, in South Australia.

The Lighthouse at Cape Leeuwin

View from the top

Dont look down (the expressions would change)

Some sheep in Margaret River, for the kids

Karri Forest at Karridale, Margaret River

One for John, at Pemberton

The little steamer - needs some attention, John

Suspension bridge in the forests near Pemberton

Stop rocking it!

A bit more substantial - the Tree Tops Walk in the Walpole-Nornalup NP

The highest point

This one moves about too - designed to give you the feeling of swaying about in the tree tops (and it does!)

You really are a long way up

The "Grandma Tree" - a 400 year old Tingle . Can you see the face?

A "burl" - these are popular to slice through for polished table tops (They actually had one sawn off and stolen near the entrance to this national park)

Choosing a couple of Marron

Back at the camp at Peaceful Bay, cleaning the Marron

Marilyn in charge of the fire (that's a crossword book!)

The 2 Marron ready for the meal

Marilyn and Bob at The Gap, Albany

At the Banksia Farm, Mt Barker near Albany

The Banksia Farm boasts a complete collection of Australian Banksias, and has featured in the ABC TV program Gardening Australia, a couple of times

Lucky Bay, in Cape Le Grande National Park. More from here next blog